Wind or water power wheel.



PATENTED MAR. 26, 1907.

J N. WHITNER. WIND OR WATER POWER WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES.-

A TTORNE. 1 5' TH-E NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, n. c.

PATENTEDMAR. 26

J No 848,522.

J. N. WHITNER.

WIND OR WATER POWER WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. 1906. v

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

W IYYVESSS:

A TTORNE Y5 JOSEPH N. WHITNER, OF SANFORD, FLORIDA.

WIND OR WATER POWER WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 26, 1907.

Application filed ay 31,1906- Serial N 319,567.

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH N. VVHITNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sanford, in the county of Orange and State of Florida, haveinvented a new and useful ind or Water Power Wheel, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to power-wheels adapted to be operated by eitherair or water, although it is particularly designed for use in streams.

The object of the invention is to provide a wheel having wings or bladesmovably connected to it and so mounted as to present their faces to thecurrent while moving therewith and to automatically feather while movingagainst the current.

A still further object is to provide a wheel capable of utilizing wingsor blades of considerable extent and which may be constantl y submerged.

Another object is to provide mechanism whereby all of the wings may besimultaneously unlocked, so as to bring the wheel to a stop.

VVith' the above and other objects in view the invention consists of anupright shaft mounted in suitable bearings and having parallel armsradiating therefrom, said arms being arranged in pairs. A wing or bladeis mounted between the outer ends of each pair of arms, and each bladeis provided with a locking device movably mounted on its arms andadapted when locking the blade to re inforce itthroughout its height.Means are employed whereby these locking devices may be simultaneouslydisengaged from the wings or blades, so as to cause all of the blades tofeather and the rotation of the shaft to stop.

The invention also consists of certain other novel features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter morefully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings is shown the preferred form of theinvention.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is aperspective view of the wheel. Fig. 2 isa plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the wheel with theparts in the positions shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailview of a pair of arms and showing a wing or blade locked in positiontherebetween.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 is a beam orother suitable supporting structure adapted to be placed over a flume orin any other convenient position,

and extending through this beam is an upright shaft 2, the lower end ofwhich has a socket 3, into which projects a stem 4, constituting the endhearing or guide for the shaft. This stem preferably projects from abase 5, which may be suitably anchored or' secured within the bed of thestream in which the wheel is located. A disk 6 is mounted on the beamand surrounds the shaft, and this disk constitutes a race for a seriesof balls 7. A collar 8 is secured upon the shaft and bears on the balls7, so that the entire weight of the wheel is supported thereby, and thesame can therefore be rotated with very little power.

An upper and a lower series of arms 9 and 10, respectively, radiate fromthe shaft 2, the arms 9 being disposed directly above the arms 10 andcorresponding therewith. The arms of the two series are held properlyspaced apart by rings 11, which are bolted or otherwise rigidly fastenedto them, and braces 12, having turnbuckles 12, are fastened to the outerends of the upper arms and to the shaft 2. Each arm 9 is connected atits outerend to the end of the arm 10 thereunder by means of a rod 13.This rod constitutes a pivot on which are mounted eyes 14, preferablydisposed adjacent one edge of a wing or blade 15, the height of which isslightly less than the distance between the two arms. The eyes 14 areheld properly positioned on the rod 13 by means of collars 16 or othersuitable stop devices upon the rod. It is of course understood that eachpair of arms 9 and 10 is provided with one of these wings 15.

A look or stay is provided for each of the wings or blades 15, and, asshown particularly in Fig. 4, this stay consists of a rod 17, havingoppositely-disposed L-shaped arms 18 at its ends, which project aboveand below the arms 9 and 10, respectively, and are pivotally mountedwithin them. The points of connection between the arms 18 and the arms 9and 10 are located at a distance from rod 13 greater than the width ofthe wing 15 on said rod, so that when the arms 18 are disposed at rightangles to the arms 9 and 10 the rod 17 is held out of the path of saidwing and the wing is free to rotate in a circle about this rod 13. Asmall guide or pulley 19 is arranged on each arm 9 between arm 18 androd 13, and extending around this pulley or guide is a rope or cable 20,one end of which is fastened to the upper arm 18 adjacent the IIO ingthe lock or stay connected to said arm current.

and that all of these cables extend inward toward the shaft 2 and arefastened to the same ring 22. Operating-ropes 23 extend upward fromopposite portions of the ring 22, so that the same can be convenientlyraised. 1

It is believed that the operation of the wings 15 will be readilyunderstood in view of the foregoing description when read in con nectionwith the accompanying drawings.

When the ring 22 is pulled upward, all of the cables or ropes 20 willswing therods 17 against the arms 9 and 10 and into the paths of thewings 15. If the current is in the direction indicated by the arrow inFig. 2, the wings will successively swing into contact with these rodsand present their broad faces to the current at one side of the shaftand will subsequently successively swing beyond the ends of and intoalinement with the arms and will then feather as they move against theThe force 'of the current upon the broad faces of the said wings will ofcourse greatly exceed that upon the feathered wings at the oppositeportion of the shaft, and therefore the wheel will rotate continuouslyin one direction. Should it be desired to stop the rotation of thewheel, the ring 22 is lowered, and the pressure of the current against.that side of the wheel where the wings are feathered will throw the rods17 out of the paths of the wings, so that before the wheel as made acomplete rotation all of the blades or wings are freed of their staysand swing loosely in the direction of the current.

It is of course obvious that a single wing or blade can be mountedbetween the arms 9 and 10 of each pair only when the radiating arms aredisposed ninety degrees or more apart. Where a large number of arms9 and10 are used, as shown in the drawings, it is necessary to employ aplurality of wings or blades, so that practically the entire spacebetween the arms of each pair can be closed. Where a number of bladesare employed in connection with each pair of arms, the outer blade ismounted in the same manner as has been heretofore described, and theinner blades 24 and 25 are similarly mounted, but are of course muchsmaller, so as to be capable of swinging freel between the convergingarms 9 and 10. T16 rod 26, on which the wings 24 are hung, aresufliciently removed from the rods 13 to permit the wings 15 to swingpast them, and the rods 27 of the inner wings 25 are similarly located,so that the wings 24 can swing past them. A stay similar to the stay 17is provided for each. of these small wings 24 and 25, and the arms 29 ofthe stays are attached to the cables 20 by flexible connections 30,extending over pulleys 31. It is thus apparent that by raising the ring22 the stays 28, as well as stays 17, will be swung into the paths oftheir respective wings, so as to cause them to present broad faces tothe current at one side of the wheel. By lowering the ring 22 all of thestays will be swung from the paths of the wings, so as to cause thewheel to stop rotating, as described. in connection with the operationof blade 15.

Although the inner blades 24 and 25 have been described as beingprovided with stays for the purpose of holding them against movement inone direction, these stays may be dispensed with, and in lieu thereofthe in ner blades or wings 25 may be caused to overlap the shaft 2,while the blades 24 will overlap the blades 25. It is of course obviousthat with this construction the small blades can only be made to featherwhen at one side of the wheel. WVhen the large blades 15 are released,however, only the small blades 24 and 25 at one side of the wheel willbe presented to the current, and therefore sufficient resistance wouldnot be offered to the current to cause the wheel to rotate and to driveany machinery which may be connected thereto.

It will be seen that the wheel is comparatively simple in constructionand will rotate smoothly, requiring but little pressure to 0perate it.While the wheel is particularly designed to be entirely submerged, itwill also operate if only partly submerged and is not necessarilyactuated by a stream running in one direction, but will be rotatedcontinuously in the same direction with ebb and flood tides. The deviceis therefore espe cially suitable in streams afiected by thetides or byfreshets. Although the wheel has been described as a water-wheel, itwill be understood that it can also be operated by wind-power.

The preferred form of the invention has been set forth in the foregoingdescription; but I do not limit myself thereto, as I am aware thatmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit orsacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right tomake such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a device of the character described thecombination with a rotatable shaft, and upper and lower arms radiatingtherefrom; of wings pivotally mountedv between the arms, an oscillatorystay device for each wing and adapted to be overlapped thereby, andmeans for simultaneously moving the stay devices into engagement withthe wings.

2. In a device of the class described the combination with a rotatableshaft, and up- 3. In a device of the character described the combinationwith a rotatable shaft, and upper and lower arms radiating therefrom andarranged in pairs; of a wing pivotally connected to the arms of eachpair and adapted to swing therebetween, a stay-rod for each wing, armsextending from the rods and pivoted to the respective radial arms, andmeans for simultaneously swinging the stays and their arms to bring saidstays into the paths of the wings.

4. In a device of the character described the combination with arotatable shaft, and upper and lower arms radiating therefrom andarranged in pairs; of a plurality of wings pivotally mounted between thearms of each pair, an oscillatory stay device for each wing, and meansfor simultaneously moving said devices into the paths of the wings.

5. In a device of the character described the combination with arotatable shaft, and arms radiating from the shaft; of a plurality ofwings pivotally connected to each arm, an oscillatory stay device foreach wing, and means for simultaneously moving the stay devices into thepaths of the wings to hold. them against movement in one direction.

6. In a device of the character described the combination with arotatable shaft, and arms radiating therefrom; of a plurality of wingspivotally connected to each of the arms, a stay device for each wing,said stays adapted to swing upon the arms, an actuating device slidablymounted on the shaft, and means connecting said device with the staysfor simultaneously swinging said stays into the paths of the wings.

7. In a device of the character described the combination with arotatable shaft, and arms radiating therefrom; of a plurality of wingspivotally connected to each arm, and oscillatory means carried by eacharm and separate from the wings for holding one of the wings thereonagainst movement in one direction, and oscillatory means carried by eacharm and separate from the wings for holding the other wingsagainstmovement in one direction.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affiXedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH N. I/VHITNER.

